{"id":15720,"date":"2019-05-14T14:18:18","date_gmt":"2019-05-14T13:18:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=15720"},"modified":"2025-09-28T14:32:59","modified_gmt":"2025-09-28T13:32:59","slug":"imperial-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/schonbrunn\/imperial-tour\/","title":{"rendered":"State Apartments highlights"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/rococo_clock.jpg\" alt=\"A rococo clock\" class=\"wp-image-15865\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/rococo_clock.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/rococo_clock-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>You&#8217;re in for a treat. The self-guided Sch\u00f6nbrunn palace tours take you through rooms full of priceless furnishings and d\u00e9cor, and all with a story to tell of Habsburg and European history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>State Apartments tour covers nine rooms<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Focuses on the area around the Great Gallery<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Take the Palace Ticket tour for much more, though<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Book a Sch\u00f6nbrunn <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/en\/schonbrunn-palace-tickets-l145516\/?partner=visitingvienna&amp;tq_campaign=LGSchPalVenue\" rel=\"sponsored\">concert, experience &amp; more<\/a>*<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/schonbrunn\/tour\/\">Palace tours overview<\/a> &amp; ticket tips<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sightseeing\/palace-of-schonbrunn\/\">Sch\u00f6nbrunn overview<\/a> &amp; visitor tips<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What&#8217;s included?<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/schoenbrunngrandgallery.jpg\" alt=\"The Great Gallery\" class=\"wp-image-53565\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/schoenbrunngrandgallery.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/schoenbrunngrandgallery-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Schloss Sch\u00f6nbrunn; the State Apartments tour includes the impressive Great Gallery; press photo \u00a9 Schlo\u00df Sch\u00f6nbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H. \u2013 Alexander Eugen Koller)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As mentioned on my <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/schonbrunn\/tour\/\">palace tour advice<\/a> page, the self-guided tours offered by Sch\u00f6nbrunn Palace come in different Habsburgian flavours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The State Apartments tour is the short version and takes you through nine rooms\/areas. It focuses on the huge Great Gallery and the rooms adjacent to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The much-longer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/schonbrunn\/grand-tour\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"15850\">Palace Ticket<\/a> tour takes you through those same places, but adds another 30 rooms or so to the tour experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Expect a vast quantity of rococo furniture, silk wall hangings, historical portraits, gilt chandeliers, and a whole host of other items that once felt the touch or the admiring eye of an Emperor or Empress (or a maid or footman).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">My top 3 tour highlights<\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"357\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/schoenbrunnchinesecanibets.jpg\" alt=\"Chinese cabinet room\" class=\"wp-image-81787\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/schoenbrunnchinesecanibets.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/schoenbrunnchinesecanibets-300x214.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Schloss Sch\u00f6nbrunn; one of the Chinese Cabinet rooms; press photo \u00a9 Schlo\u00df Sch\u00f6nbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H. \u2013 Alexander Eugen Koller)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The short State Apartments tour is best for those who want a quick look inside the palace without committing too much time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And while you miss out on some breathtaking rooms and a lot of history, you still get to view perhaps the most impressive room of all&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Highlight 1: the Great Gallery<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The Great Gallery feels like something out of a Disney film. Measuring over 40m by 10m, it features two huge gilt chandeliers with space on each for 70 candles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This room positively invites you to slip into a wig and something impractical, then dance across the floor while hoping to catch the eye of some Archduke or Archduchess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The ceiling frescoes include Maria Theresa and her husband surrounded by various figures giving human form to royal virtues and crown lands. So something to consider when you next redecorate your kitchen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But it&#8217;s not all royals and nobility. John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev met in the Great Gallery in 1961 at the height of the cold war; the meeting followed the shooting down of a US spy plane by the soviets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><em>Ad:<\/em><p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Find tickets and experience options for the palace and zoo)<\/p><\/div><div data-tiqets-widget=\"discovery\" data-cards-layout=\"horizontal\" data-content-type=\"venue\" data-content-ids=\"145516,141990\" data-partner=\"visitingvienna\" data-tq-campaign=\"DA_SchPal\"><\/div><script defer src=\"https:\/\/widgets.tiqets.com\/loader.js\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Highlight 2: Chinese cabinet rooms<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Two Chinese Cabinet rooms flank the Small Gallery off to one side of the Great Gallery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Inside, exquisite patterned floors and lacquer panels caught my eye; the gilt frames peel off to create stands for a variety of priceless Chinese and Japanese porcelain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Incidentally, for more porcelain in Vienna, try the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/augarten-porcelain-museum\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"5923\">Augarten Museum<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Highlight 3: Hall of Ceremonies<\/h4>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/josephiiwedding.jpg\" alt=\"Commemorative sheet for a Habsburg wedding in 1760\" class=\"wp-image-86042\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/josephiiwedding.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/josephiiwedding-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Commemorative sheet for the marriage of Joseph II. to Maria Isabella of Parma on October 6th, 1760, as engraved by Johann Adam Stockmann; Wien Museum Inv.-Nr. 220103; excerpt reproduced with permission under the terms of the CC0 licence)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The State Apartments tour ends in the Hall of Ceremonies. Take some time to get a look at the paintings. They show incredibly-detailed scenes from the marriage of the future Emperor Joseph II (Maria Theresa&#8217;s son) to Isabella of Parma, a Bourbon princess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those pictures give us a real insight into imperial grandeur at the time. And into Mozart&#8217;s fame: even though he wasn&#8217;t at the wedding, you&#8217;ll still <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/schonbrunn\/mozart-painting\/\">find him in a painting<\/a> (just in case you thought picture manipulation was a modern invention).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the time of writing, the hall and its paintings are undergoing restoration work expected to finish at the end of 2026. You can still pass through it, but some of what you would normally see may not be on view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Impressive as the State Apartments tour is, can I recommend you consider the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/schonbrunn\/grand-tour\/\">Palace Ticket<\/a> tour? It allows you to continue your journey through some quite remarkable rooms for only a small extra outlay.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You&#8217;re in for a treat. The self-guided Sch\u00f6nbrunn palace tours take you through rooms full of priceless furnishings and d\u00e9cor, and all with a story to tell of Habsburg and European history. What&#8217;s included? (Schloss Sch\u00f6nbrunn; the State Apartments tour includes the impressive Great Gallery; press photo \u00a9 Schlo\u00df Sch\u00f6nbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H. \u2013 Alexander [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15865,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-15720","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-schonbrunn","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15720"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15720\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86043,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15720\/revisions\/86043"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}